Apr 24, 2023 | Benefits & Use, History
Believe it or not, there is an internet meme about utility poles. It “went viral” in 2018 because it was both funny and thought-provoking. It was just a thought posted in a Reddit forum, lacking any visuals: “Telephone poles are trees that cleaned up and got a job.”...
Mar 29, 2023 | Benefits & Use, History
Every good “ghost story” tells the life story of the person whose soul is stuck between this life and the after-life. The audience learns his or her trials and tribulations, and usually what “unresolved issues” are keeping the spirit circling its childhood home. The...
Sep 12, 2022 | Benefits & Use, History
A History of the Shortline Railroad from Montreal to Portland, Maine In the early 1800s, shipping remained the dominant way of transporting goods in the United States, yet the harsh environment of the northeast posed serious challenges to commerce. Temperatures there...
Sep 1, 2022 | Benefits & Use, History
Creosote-treated wood has played a major role in infrastructure thanks to “empty-cell processes.” What are these? During the 19th century, wood could be preserved with creosote using a “full-cell” process, developed in 1838 by John Bethell. But this...
Jul 7, 2022 | Benefits & Use, History, News
More than a century ago the wooden railroad ties of the Delaware Bay and Cape May Railroad traversed the sandy beaches of the New Jersey coast. They had just one job: to transport sand to the Cape May Sand Company for manufacturing glass and construction purposes. Its...
Jun 13, 2022 | History, Regulation
Following a century of experimentation in treating and preserving wood for industrial and transportation purposes in the U.S., at the turn of the 20th century Max Rüping and Cuthbert Lowry developed wood pressure-treatment methods that revolutionized the industry. The...
